Long Birth, well worth it to have Max!

*BOP warning – mom does experience discomfort and chooses and epidural, but a positive birth overall!*

I’ve enjoyed reading all the amazing birth stories on the Hypnobabies blog and have debated for a while whether or not I should post mine. I praticed Hypnobabies for about 12 weeks prior to my guess date (10/11) which I thoroughly enjoyed and found extremely helpful for staying relaxed and sleeping well while pregnant. I could envision the most natural and perfect birthing and felt really empowered. My story has a few unexpected twists and turns but I’m happy overall with how it turned out.

So it all started Thursday (10/8) afternoon when I knew something was up … my “practice” birthing waves were getting noticeably stronger and a little closer together. I was hanging out with my mom that day and when I drove home, I was getting really uncomfortable. It was obvious that I was getting close to “real” labor. I relaxed and listened to my Hypobabies tracks at home that night and tried timing some of them for an hour to see if I could find a pattern. Not really … some were 15 min apart, some 8, some 10 …

That night, sleeping was not really possible since my birthing waves were waking me up. Around 4:30am I called my sister (a NICU nurse) to let her know that I need her to start getting ready to come over since they were around 5-7 min apart. My sister and husband were the ones that would be supporting me in the delivery room. By the time she arrived I was having to focus more and more on breathing through each birthing wave. All the while I continued to listen to my hypnobabies tracks on my iPod.

When we got to the hospital around 6am on Friday, I waited in the triage room to be “checked” … and I was just 2cm, 90% effaced. They asked me to walk around for an hour and they would check me again. So I did and afterwards, I was just 2cm still. We took their advice and went back home to go a few more hours before coming back. As soon as I got home (around 10am), I got in tub to get some relief. I labored at home until about 3pm … I was REALLY in the throes of labor at that point and had to get a wheelchair to get to L&D. They could tell I was ready to be admitted and got me into a delivery room. The midwife that would deliver my baby checked me and I was 7cm … YEA! Wow, I was really on my way … as time went on I was more and more vocal through each birthing wave. It took everything I had to stay in control but I was confident and determined to get through it. I walked around, rocked in a chair, and sat on my birthing ball, anything to help the labor move along more effectively.

The midwife came back around 7pm to check me and I couldn’t believe it, I was only 7cm still. That was a shock and I thought maybe she should break my water to bring more dialation. I was getting a little desparate to speed things up. Wow, that was a strange sensation! Instantly I was experiencing birthing waves beyond my wildest imagination. It could of been a combination of exhaustion and stress but I started shaking all over really bad. My poor sister and husband must have been traumatized because I slowly found myself losing confidence and I was literally screaming when each one hit. Not exactly in control anymore. The water breaking was a major induction of my labor and I just couldn’t get a grip. My husband was really supportive and kept saying you’re doing great, you can do it (like I told him to) and I started saying do I have a choice? I was sure there was no turning back (getting meds) since I was too far along.

Bless my sister’s heart, she could tell I was not going to make it and I was actually stalling labor by tensing up so much. I was saying things I won’t repeat here :) and when she said I could get some relief to take the edge off, I agreed. She didn’t say epidural but I knew what she meant. She got the nurse to get the anesthesiologist. The nurse never offered an epidural because it wasn’t on my birth plan so I give her credit for sticking to it! It was about 10 or 11pm now and I was just grateful I had made it that far and could still be helped. I would have given my right arm to get relief at that point.

The next part is an unexpected twist … the nurse is trying to put the IV in my hand and 3 times she was unsuccessful because she would hit a valve in my veins. My sister said it took all she had not to grab the IV and administer it herself. Each time she was unsuccessful I had to brace myself for another birthing wave. I thought I was going to lose my mind. My sister basically told the nurse to get the anesthesiologist to do the IV (since they are pros). What would I have done without my sister there, I don’t know. She should be a doula. :)

So the candyman, I call him, gave me an epidural and it took a bit to take effect but eventually I could relax. As soon I did my husband said the birthing wave monitor was showing waves off the charts … my body was finally able to do what it needed to do because I was letting it. It’s offically Saturday now. The midwife came to check me after about an hour or so (around 1am) and I was fully dialated, station 2, so it was time to push. I couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was … just waiting for birthing waves to come so I could push. Having been up for about 48 hours I almost fell asleep between pushes! I could still feel the pressure of the contractions but mildly. After about 4 or 5 sets of pushing … my baby boy, Max, was born at 1:52am! He was placed on my chest and I just couldn’t believe he was finally there (I asked him what took him so long). I was so relieved and happy as I just stared at him as the nurse took his vitals.

That’s my birth story … an amazing experience I’ll never forget. I wasn’t planning to get an epidural but I also wasn’t planning to have a marathon long labor. I give myself credit for getting as far as I did and I’m glad I was able to get the relief I needed to finally bring Max into the world. There’s no way I would have gotten as far as I did without the empowerment of Hypnobabies. I also give my sister & husband LOTS of credit for being such awesome supporters and enduring each hour. Hope you enjoyed my story!